


Ghost of the Family

by darkhorse_douglas



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Family Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-05-06 06:16:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5406137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkhorse_douglas/pseuds/darkhorse_douglas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ryou gets a Ancient Artifact with a Spirit inside for his birthday. All Ryou cares about is having a friend. All Bakura cares about was not getting thrown away by his first host. Ryou's Mum cares about a little more than that. What if Ryou got the Ring a Birthday early? What if Bakura met Mrs. Bakura and Amane? What would change? Bakura & Ryou brotherly fluff centered AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Prologue

He wasn't aware of much in the ring those first few centuries. Sometimes he would awaken to darkness and think about his loss against the Pharaoh. He went over the battle hundreds of thousands of times. Planning what he would do next time to ensure his revenge. Other times he would awaken to the voice of the darkness, filling his soul with more darkness and hatred. Sometimes he wouldn't actually awaken, but be trapped nightmares that were really memories. His favorite way to wake up was to the feeling of some idiot, greed filled mortal trying on the ring. He never let them live through the mistake and it was nice to release some energy burning a mortal to a crisp. But as the years went by he started to wake up less and less. He rarely woke up, one or two idiots would try, but that was about it. He couldn't tell how many years past but he was sure it was over a 1,000 years.

When he was awoken again it was to someone picking up the ring, but unlike the last few times of someone picked up the ring. This person wasn't filled with greed, simply curiosity and after listening to another man, skepticism. A currency of money was exchanged and the Spirit felt his gold prison being placed into a bag. He didn't care the calling of the ring eventually got to every holder of it. It was only matter of time before the temptation would be to much and this man like so many others would be a burning corpse.

The Spirit didn't get a chance this time though, because before he knew it the ring was being placed in a box and moving. That was all he was able to tell with his limited perception of things outside of the ring. He ended up on a plane, for the first time leaving his homeland of Egypt and being sent to a rainy little place where a little white haired boy was celebrating his 6th birthday.

The young boy named Ryou Bakura opened his birthday present from his father. He was a little disappointed that he wasn't there to give it to him in person, but it was something from Egypt so it had to be cool. This wouldn't be the last gift he got in the mail from his father, but it was the most important one. Ryou ripped away the packaging to see a shiny piece of gold. It was a large golden ring with a triangle in the middle and an eye on it, the ring had five spikes around it and was tied to old rope. Ryou immediately put it on. The Spirit in the ring was surprised no one so young had ever tried on his ring and then he was even more shocked to find out that he couldn't burn this boy. After thousands of years he found someone worthy of the ring, he had found his host.

Ryou liked the feeling of the ring on his chest the gold was surprisingly warm. He turned to his little sister Amane showing her the ring. The two year old seemed entranced by the item staring at it for a while before laughing and clapping her hands. After showing his sister the ring Ryou went back to opening his other presents, some from his grandparents, a few his Mum rapped for him and one with a scribbly piece of paper on it supposed to be from his little sister, but was really from his Mum. He got some cool gifts like a few new VHS's, some books on ghosts, and new action figures.

The Ring was his favorite gift that year and he refused to take it off for weeks after. Showing it to everyone. The Spirit got settled into his host during these first few weeks. He went through many of Ryou's memories, eventually grasping an understanding of what little his host knew about the language that was spoken nowadays. The Spirit also looked through memories explaining modern things. The kid's knowledge of how things worked was lacking, but the Spirit at least gain a basic understand of what cars, TVs, and phones were.

During the first two weeks the two residents were ignorantly oblivious to the others doings. That all change when Ryou had the great idea of using the Ouija board (that he also got for his birthday) to contact the dead. Of course he was still wearing the Ring when he did this and ended up opening contact between the two distant souls.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ryou gets a Ancient Artifact with a Spirit inside for his birthday. All Ryou cares about is having a friend. All Bakura cares about was not getting thrown away by his first host. Ryou's Mum cares about a little more than that. What if Ryou got the Ring a Birthday early? What if Bakura met Mrs. Bakura and Amane? What would change? Bakura & Ryou brotherly fluff centered AU!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> Hey everybody! Thanks for checking out my story. Alright this is going to be an Ryou and Bakura centered AU as mentioned in the description. This literally could be K if I didn't plan any Bakura memories in the future. So literally anyone who knows Bakura's backstory can read this. Ryou's six and Amane is two and Bakura is 3,000 to 5,000 give or take a few decades.
> 
> Note: Bakura might, no defiantly will be OOC not major, but he's certainly not like his Anime self. NO Abridged personalities not because I don't like them I just don't think I can write them. No one knows what Mrs. Bakura or Amane's personalities would be like so I'm flying blind and making it up as I go along. So this is just my version of them feel free to use it or make your own.
> 
> Credit: I don't own Yugioh! sort of obvious
> 
> Major credit to "Some Fucking Nerd" from tumblr. A lot of the head cannons I used in this fic come from their tumblr account How to Train Your Yami. I'm trying to make a story from a few of there ideas and headcannons. I am NOT trying to steal there work or ideas.
> 
> Check out their tumblr account here: howtotrainyouryami or somefxkingnerd

Chapter 1

"Oh powerful spirits. Here me and answer," said Ryou as he looked around the room hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost. When nothing immediately happened Ryou tried again with a different phrase usually used in horror movies.

He was sitting in the dark in his bedroom in front of a summoning star made from scotch tape. He was using one of his hoola hoops as the border and a torch as the center candle. (His Mummy said it was unsafe to light fires in his bedroom unsupervised) He held the Ouija board between himself and the summoning circle hoping to make contact with something paranormal. The Ring unnoticed by Ryou started to glow.

The Spirit of the ring was getting bored he had already looked through all the memories of any importance this young mortal could have and was now stuck thinking about his plan to get revenge on the Pharaoh again. Now that he had a host his plans could finally go into motion of course the young age of said host would limit what he could do now. Which meant he would have to wait. If there was one thing the Spirit of the Ring had plenty of was patience and time. That didn't mean he couldn't get bored. So when he felt a strange pulling he didn't hesitate with entertaining himself with investigating it.

The tug led the Spirit out of the ring to his young host who was unknowingly calling the Spirit. "Spirit please answer me through this Ouija board if you are here." Ryou stated after calling for a spirit for a few minutes and getting a weird feeling. Which he assumed meant the ghost was here. The Spirit did just that moving the Ouija board to spell out one of the English words he had learned in the last week in his host's mind. "No" answered the spirit deciding he wanted to be difficult with his new host.

"Rude" responded Ryou before finally realizing it had worked he had contacted an actual Spirit! "Hi Mr. Spirit! My name is Ryou and I am six years old and live with my Mummy, Daddy, and baby sister Amane in a country called England, will you be my friend? I don't have many friends. The kids at school say it's cause I like ghosts and ghosts are scary. You're not scary you're a friendly ghost right Mr. Spirit? I'm sure you are even if you are a little rude, I'm sure it's just cause you're dead and aren't used to talking to other people yet, but you can talk to me. My Mummy says I have really good manners, I could teach you. Will you be my friend Mr. Spirit? Please," Ryou said FINALLY stopping to take a breath.

The Spirit was slightly impressed with how fast the kid talked, but also overwhelmed with how much the kid said. He hadn't had a real conversation with anyone in eons and having just learned the language last week wasn't helping him keep up at all. Nevertheless he was able to follow along well enough to answer the kids last question. "YES"

When Ryou read this he got super happy and excited rambling on really fast again how they were going to be the best of friends and have so much fun. The spirit was relieved of the excited child when Ryou's mother called him down to supper. Ryou quickly said goodbye and that he would contact the Spirit again tomorrow before turning off the torch to "cut" the connection.

That night at dinner all Ryou could talk about was how he contacted a ghost and how they were now best friends. Amane didn't really listen to Ryou's story being a toddler and all. But his Mummy listened and thought it was nice that Ryou finally had a friend even if it was just an imaginary one.

"What's your new friends name Ryou?" his Mother asked as she fed Amane and herself.

"I don't know. I call him Mr. Spirit, but I can ask him tomorrow for you. I promised to contact him again." said Ryou as he ate his meat and applesauce while avoiding the vegetables of course.

"Well I hope you and Mr. Spirit have fun playing together tomorrow." Mrs. Bakura said as she finished her dinner and help Amane finish hers.

"We will!" said Ryou as he scooted off his chair hoping to leave before him Mummy noticed the vegetables.

"Now Mr. Ryou I don't believe that plate is sparkly clean just yet." said Mrs. Bakura knowing what Ryou was trying to pull seeing as he did it every night.

"But Mummy" Ryou said starting to explain as the voices started to get drowned out as the Spirit started to move farther into the Ring.

The Spirit hadn't ever watched one of the family dinner's until that night and he had to admit it wasn't as annoying as it could have been and certainly better than being in this Ra be damned Ring. The entire day was more entertainment then he had experienced in the last century. He hadn't planned to reveal himself to his host just to be an invisible shadow that wasn't noticed until the Pharaoh showed up and his plan was put into motion. He certainly hadn't planned to say yes to being the boy's friend. Really the spirit had no idea what overcame him to do THAT.

It certainly changed the Spirit's plan the boy now not only knew of his existence, he also expected the Spirit to interact with him. The Spirit for once didn't know what to do. Ignoring the boy was out of the question especially if the kid pulled whatever he did that night to summon him. But if he truly interacted with the boy there was a high likelihood he would scare the kid and mentally scar him for life. If the spirit did that the boy would get rid of the Ring and the Spirit would have to wait a few more millennias for another host and by that point the Pharaoh very well could have moved on and then the Spirit's revenge would never come to pass. The Spirit couldn't let that happen, the voices seemed to agree for they started crying out ever louder than their usual constant moaning.

With that the Spirit decided what he was going to do. He was going to play nice, be this boy's little imaginary friend it was obvious that's what the mother thought he was. When the boy grew up he would vanish into the back of his mind, so the boy too thought he was simply a childhood imaginary friend. Then when the time came and he located the Pharaoh he would rush forward take over the oblivious boy and get his revenge. A simple plan with a simple flaw, the Spirit getting attached to his host and his host's family. Of course that would never happened reasoned the Spirit when challenged by the darkness. For when has a parasite like him ever gotten emotionally attached to his host.

.

.

.

Challenge accepted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Closing:
> 
> I don't have a planned way of releasing these chapters. I already have 10 chapters written so I plan to spread them out a little. This story won't be heavy on the magic side. Ryou and Bakura won't leave London for at least another 15 chapters. I'm probably going to make the Anime a second story entirely. This is just going to be a bunch of fluff with maybe a few hurt/comfort scenes. Hope I've explained what to expect in this fic. I don't want to spoil it!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Darkhorse out!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ryou gets a Ancient Artifact with a Spirit inside for his birthday. All Ryou cares about is having a friend. All Bakura cares about was not getting thrown away by his first host. Ryou's Mum cares about a little more than that. What if Ryou got the Ring a Birthday early? What if Bakura met Mrs. Bakura and Amane? What would change? Bakura & Ryou brotherly fluff centered AU!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note:
> 
> Hey guys! Here's chapter two. I've decided I'm going to post a new chapter every Saturday and every Tuesday or Thursday depending on how busy I am.
> 
> Let me know if there is any horrible grammar mistakes in this. I'm horrible at spelling and sentence structure so if there's anything really wrong tell me. Also I'm looking for an editor so if anyone want's to read over my horrible rough drafts feel free to contact me!
> 
> Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh! and I don't own these characters.

Chapter 2

The next day Ryou rushed up the stairs to his room after school. "Don't bug us or you might scare Mr. Spirit away." Being yelled in his wake. Causing the Spirit to chuckle, like any of these people could scare him away.

Ryou set everything up as it was the day before same tape and hoola hoop summoning circle same torch same Ouija board. Once everything was in place he started trying to remember what exactly he had said the day before to summon the Spirit. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and call the wrong Spirit, but it was hard. He had said a lot, rambling on for a whole five minutes. How could he possibly remember everything he said? Ryou decide to just say what he remembered and hope it was enough.

"Oh powerful Mr. Spirit. Hear my call and answer. Please?" said Ryou hoping calling the Spirit's name would help since he didn't remember the rest. The Spirit had been waiting figuring it was best to show up when the kid was calling him instead of popping up out of nowhere.

The ring glowed and this time Ryou noticed. Watching in fascination as a blue mist came out of the ring's eye and circled around him once before bunching up in front of him. The blob of light blue started to change, stretching out and taking shape. Slowly gaining other colors too until a transparent copy of Ryou was floating in front of him. It was like Ryou was looking in a mirror! Though the mirror was see through, had messier hair than Ryou, and had more red in his brown eyes.

"Hi" said the Spirit not knowing what else to say and hoping he hadn't terrified the boy. He had tried to come out of the ring in the least scariest way possible. But he wasn't sure if he had still freighted the boy or not.

"Wow you look just like me!" exclaimed Ryou excitedly not the least bit put off by the Spirit. "Of course you look more ghosty than me, but that just makes you way cooler!"

"What do you mean I look just like you?" asked the Spirit looking down on himself for the first time outside of the ring. "Oh." He said he had the extremely pale skin of the boy in front of him and his hair was really white as well. Back in his past life his hair was more gray in color instead of white, of course that could have been because he never washed it. He was also wearing an exact copy of the outfit the boy was wearing.

"So Mr. Spirit since you here and I can see you does that mean you'll play a game with me?" asked Ryou suddenly nervous that his new friend might leave and not play with him.

"Sure." says the Spirit after inspecting his new form. He figured playing a few games with the child couldn't hurt. That's what friends did right? "Though I don't know if I'll be able to touch or move things in this form." The Spirit had never been in an astral form before after all and wasn't sure if he had the focus yet to touch solid objects.

"It's okay I'll move the pieces for you. Let's go pick a game!" Said Ryou heading over to his bookshelf that had a shelf of games on it. He was excited to have someone to play with, Mummy always let him win when they played, and Amane was a baby she couldn't play games yet Mummy said.

Ryou picked out Checkers. After a quick explanation of the rules to Mr. Spirit they began to play. Ryou won the first few rounds of the game, but after figuring out the strategy aspects of checkers the Spirit was having trouble holding back and letting Ryou win. It was hard sit back and let a six year old win every game.

Ryou wasn't stupid he was quite smart for a six year old. He summoned a ghost after all, so he quickly picked up on the fact that Mr. Spirit was tossing games.

"You don't have to give up the games. I won't cry if you win." Said Ryou confronting the Spirit. "My Mummy always lets me win already and I want to face some who will try to win."

"You really won't cry if I win? I find that hard to believe." Scoffed the Spirit hiding his surprise that the kid picked up what he was doing at all let alone that quickly.

"I won't, I'm a big boy. I won't cry if I lose once as long as it's a fun game." responded Ryou getting excited about the possibility of a challenge.

"Alright then. I will move this piece here and end my turn." said the Spirit starting their next round of checkers.

The Spirit was white pieces this round meaning he got to go first. This round of Checkers went faster than any of their previous rounds and Ryou was only able to get two of his pieces across the field and turned into kings. By then he had lost most of his pieces and the game ended soon after. Ryou didn't care though that the Spirit beat him. It was a really fun game and Mr. Spirit used strategies Ryou had never seen before.

As promised Ryou didn't cry when he lost. In fact his already big smile seemed to get even bigger. They played three more rounds of checkers all of which Ryou lost. Ryou was cleaning and setting up for their fourth game when Ryou's Mum called up about dinner. Ending their time together once again.

"Will you come down stairs with me Mr. Spirit? I want to introduce you to my Mummy and Amane." said Ryou as he put away the game. He had had a lot of fun today and didn't want his friend to leave just yet.

"Not today, maybe next time kid. I should be going now." said the Spirit not wanting to get the answer to weather Ryou's mother and sister could see his astral form just yet.

"Oh ok. You probably have to go and have dinner with your ghost family right? I'll let you go home." said Ryou disappointed, but still finding his own answer as to why Mr. Spirit had to leave.

"Ghosts don't have "ghost families", but I do have to go." corrected the Spirit as he vanished into the Ring.

Ryou was shocked by this and thought hard on it on his way down the stairs to dinner. His Mum temporarily distracted him by asking if he had fun playing with "Mr. Spirit" today. Ryou told her about how they had played Checkers and how Ryou had to move the pieces for Mr. Spirit since he couldn't move them himself. This description satisfied Mrs. Bakura and cemented her belief that Mr. Spirit was just an imaginary friend. The conversation with his Mum was only a short distraction from his thoughts though and Ryou quickly found himself lost in his own head again.

Ryou was sure Mr. Spirit would have family. Everyone had family even if they didn't always like each other they still existed. But maybe Mr. Spirit was right and he didn't have family, because he was a ghost. Ghost's don't follow all human rules they can fly after all. But if he really didn't have a family then...

"Mummy can Mr. Spirit be a part of our family?" Begged Ryou in the cute voice only kids can do and only when they want something.

Mrs. Bakura paused in feeding Amane at this question and the Spirit who had been losing interest in this night's dinner conversation regained interest. Both were surprised by this question. The Spirit, because he had been fretting about what he had told the boy and certainly didn't think that would be the response to what he said. Mrs. Bakura, because she had been worriedly watching Ryou get lost in his thoughts and not thinking that would be the reason.

"Why do you want him to be apart of our family Ryou?" asked Mrs. Bakura taking the question in stride.

"Well we were talking today about him coming downstairs to day to meet you and he said he had to leave. So I thought he had to go home to eat dinner with his ghost family. Then he said he didn't have a "ghost family". So I've been thinking and I think he should be part of our family. Since he doesn't have one, we could share ours." explained Ryou at lightning fast speeds.

Mrs. Bakura was surprised that Ryou's "imaginary" friend had said he didn't have a family. At the same time she thought Ryou's request was really sweet and kind hearted.

"Sure Ryou. Mr. Spirit can be part of our family, but that means he's going to have to come downstairs for family dinner. No more of this hiding in your room okay?" Answered Mrs. Bakura going along with the idea.

"Okay Mummy. I promise to bring Mr. Spirit down to dinner with me tomorrow and he can be part of our family!" said Ryou really excited about Mr. Spirit coming to family dinner tomorrow. He said this as he got up from the table getting ready to head up to his room.

"Hey young man I believe you forgot something." called Mrs. Bakura pointing the vegetables that were once again still on his plate.

"But Mummy." said Ryou slouching his shoulders.

"Don't you, "but Mummy" me, come back over here and finish your dinner" said Mrs. Bakura quickly falling back into their usual night time routine.

The Spirit once again pulled back deeper into the Ring. That was NOT how he expected the day to go and for the boy's mother to just go along with it. What if she could see him what if she sees him and freaks out and throws away the Ring.

He didn't know if he could return the Ring to his host just yet. The Spirit was still trying to figure out what his limitations were and what he could do without controlling the boy. The fact that he could hold his astral form for hours with little depletion of energy was a surprise to say the least. He had the idea that he could possible touch things with it if he focused, but he hadn't tried yet. He was planning to wait until Ryou went to sleep to test things out, and now he might not get to do anything with it if Ryou's mom can see him and flips out. All he could do was hope luck was on his side and she couldn't see him, thought the Spirit coming to this conclusion. He decide to test out his astral form tomorrow night and just go to bed. He was still tired after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me if there's any grammar mistakes and if there's anything spelled wrong.
> 
> Follow for more!
> 
> Darkhorse out.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryou and Bakura play Battleship. Then sit down for a nice family dinner. Can anyone other than Ryou see Bakura? Who knows. Read and find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> Hey everybody! Hope you all had a good winter break. Sorry for the late update. I'm going to be busy the next two months with Robotics since our building season just started and were required to work at least 70 hours. I'm also on the bowling team and our season just started too so. Free time is not my time. Don't worry though I have the next few chapters written ahead. I just won't be able to get them up very fast in the coming weeks.
> 
> Anyway here's chapter 3 more fluff and the first meeting of Yami Bakura and the rest of the Bakura family. Amane is about two, so any lack of actual character comes from that. I don't have stuff planned for her in the future though promise.
> 
> This chapter is the first chapter to officially be edited. Yay! It was edited by the wonderful Miz Maples. She writes yugioh fics as well so you should check her out if you want actual Tendershipping.
> 
> That's about it. I don't own Yugioh and Enjoy!

Chapter 3

The next day Ryou once again ran up the stairs to his room this time yelling a "we'll see you at dinner," behind him. The Spirit decided not to have Ryou waste time with the summoning circle and instead just laid back on Ryou's bed as the boy opened the door.

"Hi Mr. Spirit! I have an idea of what game we should play today!" Greeted Ryou cheerfully, not even questioning why the ghost was already here before he summoned him.

"What game would that be kid?" Questioned the Spirit, relieved he wasn't immediately asked about dinner. That was something the Spirit had been semi-worrying about since he found himself unable to asleep the night before.

"Well I say that you were really good at Checkers. So I thought maybe you would like another super smart game and I was thinking of all the really hard games. Like those that are for seven and up put I play them anyway because I'm really smart. Then I decided the best hard smart game I had was Battleship. So that's what we are playing today Battleship." Said Ryou all in one breath as he got two black boxes off the shelf and brought it over to the bed.

"Kid, you know you talk way too fast sometimes. I could barely follow all that." Stated the Spirit, once again overcome with how fast this kid could talk.

"Sorry," said Ryou, slightly embarrassed. "I tend to talk fast when I get excited." He talked quieter than he ever had before around the Spirit. The Spirit then realized he had said something the wrong way when the silence between the two became awkward.

"Umm, so, you want to explain the rules of this game to me or just have me guess at what to do." The Spirit said, trying to break the awkwardness that had surrounded them, but not wanting to apologize.

"Oh yeah right. Uh, this is how you play. So, you have one box and I have the other. After the game starts you can't look at each others boxes. Inside there's two sides the bottom is where you put your ships and the top is where you put the guesses for my ships. The goal is to guess all the right spots for your opponents ships and sink them all. Including their battleship. That's why it's called battleship. You use the white pieces to mark where you or I called a spot but didn't hit anything and red is to mark when you hit something." explained Ryou, making sure not to talk as fast as he had before. He didn't want to confuse The Spirit again.

"If this is a secretive game, how are you suppose to move my pieces?" Questioned the Spirit, already coming up with a solution as he talked.

"Oh... I forgot you can't touch things. Maybe we should play a different game," said Ryou quietly, embarrassed for forgetting that. He grabbed the two boxes planning to put them back and began thinking of a different game to play.

"Now hold on," said the Spirit, pausing Ryou's motion towards the shelf. "I didn't intend that to mean we couldn't play. You've got me intrigued. I'd like to play this game and I have a solution to our problem."

"Really?" Asked Ryou curiously, excited about the prospect of actually playing this game with someone who couldn't touch the pieces. He set the boxes back on the bed and sat down again.

"Yes, I was planning to test how well I could touch things anyway. This seems like the perfect time to do that." Said the Spirit as Ryou opened the two boxes and turned one to face the Spirit.

"Okay, just put your ships on your board and we can start," said Ryou, getting excited once again. The Spirit focused and was surprised when he was able to pick up the plastic ships on the first try. Once they got their pieces set up they started to play. The game took longer than Checkers and they only played one game before the sound of Ryou's Mother calling ended their play for that night.

"Aww, we didn't get to finish! Now we'll never know who would have won that game of Battleship." Complained Ryou to a non-attentive Spirit as he started to pick up the game. Playing with the kid had been a good distraction from dinner, but now that they weren't playing and the confrontation was glaring the Spirit in the face. He was suddenly nervous again and that was something he didn't like. How dare this woman have the power to make him feel this way. He was the thousand year old Spirit of the Millennium Ring he would not be put off by a young woman in her late 20s.

"Are you coming Mr. Spirit? I forgot to tell you since I was excited to play battleship, but you're invited to spend family dinner with us tonight. Since you don't have a ghost family and all." Said Ryou, interrupting the Spirit's thoughts from the doorway as he left his room.

"Sure," replied the Spirit. "Your family dinners can't be that boring. Spending one night with you all won't end me." He steeled himself and started to follow the boy out the door, pulling the knob shut as Ryou headed down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, Mummy said it had to be every night that you come over, not just tonight," remarked Ryou as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Darn it." Thought the Spirit. He had forgotten that. Not only did he have to muscle through tonight, but now it was expected that he join them every night for dinner. The Spirit finished these thoughts as he floated down to the bottom of the stairs. He paused at the entrance to the kitchen. Maybe he could wait out here until Ryou got distracted by eating his dinner then return to the Ring without a confrontation. That was still a possi-

"Mr. Spirit, are you coming? I want you to meet Amane!" Yelled Ryou from the kitchen. 'There goes that plan', thought the Spirit grudgingly. He wasn't going to let this women make him feel this way, and with that final resolve, he marched into the kitchen as well as a spirit could march.

The Spirit immediately regretted that decision, because as soon as he walk through the door Ryou yelled, "there you are Mr. Spirit!", causing his baby sister to look up to where her brother was talking and caused Mrs. Bakura who had been dishing out food to look up. For the first time in a millennia, the Spirit found himself at the center of attention and it certainly didn't feel as good as it had the last time he had been the center of attention.

The silence lasted for a few minutes the Spirit was frozen in the doorway and Mrs. Bakura was busy looking. Trying to see if there was anything or if her son really did just have an imaginary friend. The silence was broken by Amane chapping and giggling towards what she probably saw as another member of her family.

With the silence broken Mrs. Bakura quickly collected herself and said "Would you like to come over and join us Mr. Spirit? We'd be happy to have you." With a sweet smile on her face, she continued to dish out food. She was planning to go along with it even if she couldn't see Ryou's imaginary friend. Why Amane reacted that way confused her though. Was there really something there she couldn't see? Should she be worried?

As soon as Mrs. Bakura offered him a place at the table the Spirit started to move. Heading towards the seat beside Ryou. The boy quickly moved back the seat so the Spirit could sit before sitting himself.

"Thank you." said the Spirit, trying to be polite as he was their guest and didn't want Ryou's mother to pick up there was an actual spirit sitting at her dinner table.

"You're welcome!" Said Ryou cheerfully, happy the weird silence was gone. He didn't know why it happened, but he hoped it didn't happen again.

By this point Mrs. Bakura was done setting up the table and sat down. She was sitting across from Ryou, and Amane was sitting across from what was usually her father's seat, but was now occupied by a spirit. The baby didn't seem to be able to take her eyes off their guest, smiling and giggling every time he so much as moved. It surprised the Spirit he was able to tell the mother couldn't see him. Even if she pretended too, that was suppose to mean no one other than Ryou could see him. Yet this little toddler couldn't seem to stop staring at him.

Mrs. Bakura said a blessing over the food and everyone started eating except for the Spirit of course. Even the baby seemed to understand to wait until Mummy was done talking. The food looked strange to the Spirit. The only thing he could recognize was the green beans on the side. Luckily, he had Ryou's memories to help him name all the others there was chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and a fruit cup.

"So Mr. Spirit where are you from? Not the backyard I hope," asked Mrs. Bakura after everyone had a chance to eat some food.

"No, I'm from the city of Memphis in Kemet part of the Lower Kingdom." Answered the Spirit. Ryou told his mother what the Spirit had said. When Mrs. Bakura heard Ryou stumble over the name of Ancient Egypt and it's ancient capital she began to get suspicious. Since when did Ryou know those names.

"If you are from Ancient Egypt how do you know English?" Was Mrs. Bakura's second question.

"From your son, I learned what the kid knows of the language." Answered the Spirit, noticing Mrs. Bakura's suspicion and figuring this answer would ease her.

"How did you get here? Egypt is quite far away after all." The Spirit's last answer did ease Mrs. Bakura, but she was still suspicious and still had questions.

"..." The Spirit didn't want to give away how he was here at their dining table. If he told them then they could get rid of him and that was something he couldn't let happen. "The boy summoned me."

It was technically the truth if the boy hadn't called him that first time he wouldn't have ever revealed himself. The Spirit figured this would be a good enough answer and told Ryou to tell it to his mother.

"Now for the final question for the night. Mr. Spirit, Ryou has told me you don't have a family and if you're as old as I think you are. I can understand that so my final question is. Would you like to be part of our family?" offered Mrs. Bakura, feeling as if she had gotten enough answers that night. She had plenty to think about later as she was starting to question whether this was an actual imaginary friend or something else.

The Spirit didn't know the answer to this question. It shocked him just as much as it had last night when Ryou had asked. He knew the right answer, the answer the darkness would agree with. That would be no, but he also knew a straight out no would upset the kid and make the mother nervous. Which was the last thing he needed, but he couldn't say yes either getting attached to this family would not work with the plan.

"I don't know yet," was the answer the Spirit decided to give. It wasn't a straight no or yes and gave him more time to find the right answer.

With this final answer Mrs. Bakura decided to move the conversation away from "Mr. Spirit" and asked about what they did that afternoon. These questions were ones Ryou readily answered and the Spirit didn't have to input his own opinion. So the Spirit started to get bored and look around the kitchen. He hadn't had a chance to really look around the house before. The Spirit knew the general set up, but there were certain things that weren't very well remembered in Ryou's memories. For example what was that strange red machine on the counter. Ryou didn't seem to know or care so the Spirit didn't know.

The Spirit was trying to make out the words on the side of the strange machine when he started to feel eyes on him. Which was a very strange feeling when invisible. The Spirit looked down to see little green eyes once again staring intently at him. The Spirit was getting annoyed. He had gotten over the fact that the baby could see him as well and just wished for her to stop staring at him. Never backing down from a challenge he started to stare back. The staring contest went on for a few minutes unnoticed by the other people at the table. The Spirit wasn't going to give in, no way was he losing to a baby, besides as a spirit he didn't need to blink. He could do this all night.

"Mr. Spirit, what game do you want to play tomorrow?" Asked Ryou, breaking the Spirit's concentration and causing him to blink, losing the game. Amane immediately started laugh and clapping once the Spirit had turned away, apparently understanding that she won that game. The Spirit simply sighed and mumbled something about not caring what game they played. This caused Ryou to go on a tangent listing different games they could try that "Mr. Spirit hadn't played yet", which, of course, included many games.

"Next time brat. Next time I shall win our little game." Whispered the Spirit to the baby with a not-quite-glare on his face. Amane just smiled and looked at the Spirit without the slightest hint of fear.

Dinner quickly ended after that and the Spirit told Ryou to thank his mother for having him at dinner before returning to the Ring for the night. It was getting harder and harder to return to the too-loud-and-dark Ring with every night the Spirit spent outside of it.

Once Mrs. Bakura got Ryou and Amane to bed, she started her nightly routine. Her mind kept wandering back to dinner and their "guest". She still wasn't sure what to think. She wanted "Mr. Spirit" to just be a imaginary friend Ryou thought up. The boy had always been interested in the supernatural and she saw no reason to hinder his interest. But the facts were piling-up against Ryou's spirit being imaginary and instead an actual ghost.

Mrs. Bakura went over every thing she saw at the dinner. Amane seemed really excited when Ryou introduced Mr. Spirit and Mrs. Bakura had seen her looking at the seat the entire night. Could Amane see something she couldn't? Not to mention the answers Ryou had given were a little to detailed. She was pretty certain her husband hadn't told Ryou about the ancient cities of Egypt yet. Ryou was more interested in the book of the dead and afterlife after all.

If Mr. Spirit was in fact a ghost from ancient Egypt what did that mean? Did that mean her son was being possessed? What was she to do? Call a Priest? An Exorcist?

Mrs. Bakura needed to stop. She was panicking herself about something she didn't even know to be true. The Spirit hadn't harmed her son (yet) if he was indeed real. Mrs. Bakura could just be overthinking everything and Amane could have been looking at something else. She decided she would wait see if this really was a ghost and if it was haunting or possessing her son. She would react once she got the full picture, not before. If this Spirit was harming her son she would get rid of it anyway she could and if it wasn't, well, who knows. She assumes she'll figure it out when she gets there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story should be picking up soon promise. I have some angst that should be showing up soon, so look for that. Hope the way I wrote Mrs. Bakura makes sense and if it doesn't. That's okay I have more planned for her character later. It should explain why she's handling this the way she is.
> 
> I don't know when the next chapter will come. Probably not until next week.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Darkhorse out!


	5. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryou and Bakura decide to play a card game, a children’s card game! It’s go fish. And what’s this about nosy babysitters? Read to find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, uh hi? apparently I never uploaded chapter 4 over here. Whoops? It's on fanfic and even then that hasn't been up dated in a year. I'm so sorry about all that. But hey! that means you get two chapters close together instead of waiting a year for chapter 5 like fanfic did.
> 
> This chapter has not been edited in over a year and a half. I like to think my writing has gotten better than a year ago. Regardless this isn't edited and I apologize for any grammar mistakes.

The next day was Friday and Mrs. Bakura had to stay late at work on Friday's. So Ryou and Amane were at the mercy of their babysitter Amber. The teenager that watched them on Friday's and whenever else their mother was called into work. Amber was nice enough and usually just left Ryou to his own devices. Amane needing most of Amber's attention after all.

Ryou went up to his room like he had done every day that week. This time he didn't yell anything about not bugging them though, he just rushed on up. The Spirit was waiting on the bed like he had done the day before. Ryou quickly got a game deciding on go fish this time. The Spirit had to shuffle the cards since Ryou didn't know how to yet.

"Do you have any 7's?" asked Ryou as they started the game.

"No," responded the Spirit.

"You're supposed to say go fish," corrected Ryou as he grabbed a card from the middle.

"No go fishing," said the Spirit intentionally saying it wrong. "Do you have any 3's?"

"No Go Fish!" said Ryou with just a little too much enthusiasm. "You disappeared before I could ask you, but did you have fun at dinner last night? You were really quiet. Any 6's?"

"Here," said the Spirit handing over a six. "It was alright not to annoying. I didn't talk, because what was the point no one could see me but you. Do you have any 4's?"

Ryou gave him two fours, "Just cause Mummy can't hear you doesn't mean you can't be a part of the conversation. Amane can hear you! So that's like half the family. What were you to doing anyway? I saw you to staring at each other. Do you have any Kings?"

"Those are the ones with K's instead of numbers right?" asked the Spirit trying to memorize the names of the cards that weren't numbers so he could ask for them.

"Yeah," answered Ryou the Spirit gave him one. "You never answered my question."

"Do you have any of the A ones?" asked the Spirit.

"Aces?"

"Yeah those," Ryou gave the Spirit two making the first set in the game. "What answer do you want me to give? We weren't doing much. The brat just kept staring at me so I stared back. You made me lose that game by the way. Have any 2's?"

"Go Fish. Sorry I didn't know you were playing with her. I didn't mean to interrupt." Said Ryou trying to think of the next card he should ask for. "Do you have any 6's?" Deciding to ask again for a six, the Spirit gave him one.

"I wasn't playing with her, she challenged me and I couldn't let her just win. Next time I'll beat her though. Have any of the Q's?" Said the Spirit denying any positive interaction with the baby.

"Queen's," Ryou corrected "Here," he said giving the Spirit one. Allowing the Spirit to finish his second set. "It seemed like you guys were having fun. Don't see how you can have a competition with a baby."

"It wasn't fun, it was annoying. Have any 2's?" Answered the Spirit still denying having fun with the toddler.

"Go Fish. Maybe you can talk more tonight at dinner. Got any 3's," said Ryou remembering the Spirit had asked for one earlier. The Spirit gave him three giving Ryou his first Set. "Do you have a 10?"

"Go Fish. Not likely. I don't even feel like being at dinner tonight. Have any Aces?" The Spirit responded not wanting to sound like he enjoyed these family dinners.

"Go fish. But you can't miss dinner! Mummy said you have to be there every night. It's a rule. Have any Kings?" Explained Ryou not picking up on the Spirit's lie. The Spirit gave him one King.

"I'm not one to follow the rules. I didn't in Kemet and I won't here. Have any 6's?" Knowing Ryou had the other three 6’s. Ryou handed them over giving the Spirit his third set. "Have any Queens now?"

"Go Fish. But you're not breaking the rules right now. You haven't cheated in any of the games we've played. Got any 9's?" Stated Ryou confused by what the Spirit said.

"Go Fish. I don't cheat at games. They are the one thing I don't cheat in. I might set things up in my favor, but I don't cheat. Do you have any 5's?" Ryou gave him one.

"I'm glad you don't cheat at games, but I don't understand why not following the rules is something you do. Have any Jacks?"

"What in the other world is a Jack?" asked the Spirit confused not having gotten one yet. Causing Ryou to laugh really loud.

"They’re the ones with J's on them," explained Ryou after he was done laughing.

"Ryou are you okay?" Asked a female voice as the door opened. The Spirit and Ryou both froze. Ryou had been a little too loud with his laughing and when Amber came up to check on him she had heard him talking. "Who are you talking t-" started Amber looking around the empty room. She stopped, eyes frozen on the floating cards on top of the bed.

"Oh shoot! Ryou what did you do!? Why are the Cards floating?!" Panicked Amber. Always having ignored Ryou's fast talking about ghosts.

"That's just Mr. Spirit. We're playing Go Fish today," answered Ryou not understanding why Amber was worried. Mr. Spirit was a nice spirit they had dinner last night together. Mr. Spirit was his friend.

While Ryou was answering Amber the Spirit put down his cards. He didn't like how the nanny was reacting. It was making him tense and question whether he should just vanish into the Ring and wait for this to blow over.

"Where did it go?! Why aren't the cards moving anymore?" Asked Amber as she moved against the wall after noticing the cards stop floating.

"He's still on the bed. He just put down his cards. You don't have to be scared of him." Said Ryou still confused on why his babysitter was scared of the ghost.

"Wait you can SEE it!? How??" Said Amber surprised and even more worried at the same time.

"I've always been able to see him after I summoned him the second time." Explained Ryou while pointing at the summoning circle still on his floor. He wasn't very good at cleaning up his room. He still had action figures on the floor from before he even summoned the Spirit.

"What the Hell! You summoned it?! Oh my God Ryou's possessed! Come on Ryou I got to get you as far away from this demon as possible." Said Amber rushing towards the bed and grabbing Ryou's arm pulling him towards the door. "I got to call his Mum. Oh God what if she doesn't believe me? Doesn't matter I've got to get this kid to an extortionist. The sooner the demons out of him the bet-"

"Enough!" Yelled the Spirit as Ryou and in turn Amber turned towards the bed. The Spirit had let out some shadow magic in his anger and the cards that had been on the bed flew across the room. The increase in magic also allow Amber to hear the Spirit. "Your pointless panicking is annoying me and if you think this is possession then you are an idiot. I am not possessing the boy and I will not allow you to tell his Mum that I am doing such a thing. Ryou I am leaving don't expect me at dinner and tell this idiotic girl that if she ever tries to get an extortionist I will show her what real possession is." Finished the Spirit returning to the Ring.

"Uh Mr. Spirit I think she heard everything you said," Said Ryou after the Spirit left. Not at all scared by the Spirit's outburst, but Amber was. She stood at Ryou's side shaking in terror for only a few more seconds before she bolted out of the room. She ended up waiting at the door for Mrs. Bakura and yelling that she quit as she ran out the door. Never daring to step foot in the Bakura household ever again.

Mrs. Bakura made Ryou sit at the table as she put in the pizza they were going to have for dinner that night. Hoping to find out what happened and hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

"So Ryou care to share with me why Miss. Amber decided to quit today?" asked Mrs. Bakura as she pulled the pizza out of the fridge.

"We didn't do anything wrong," said Ryou trying to stay out of trouble. "We were just playing Go Fish honest."

"We? So Mr. Spirit was playing with you?" Questioned Mrs. Bakura knowing Go Fish wasn't a game you could play by yourself, but not wanting to think about the ramifications. She finished opening the pizza.

"Yes, he came over like he always does and we were just about to finish the first game. I didn't mean to laugh so loud. Mr. Spirit just said something funny when he didn't know what a Jack was. If I hadn't laughed so loud none of this would have happened." Explained Ryou starting to feel bad and blame himself.

"Ryou what happened after you laughed to loud." Asked Mrs. Bakura after she had put the pizza in the oven and set the timer. She was now kneeling in front of Ryou who was staring at his feet that didn't quite touch the ground yet in his chair.

"Amber came up stairs and when she saw Mr. Spirit holding his cards. She got scared and started saying all this stuff. We were just playing. We weren't doing anything bad." Said Ryou starting to cry.

"Aww baby. It's alright. Here." Comforted Mrs. Bakura hugging him and letting him cry into her shirt. "I know you and your friend weren't doing anything wrong sweetheart. I just want to know what happened. I'm not mad. What stuff did Amber say?" Asked Mrs. Bakura after Ryou's crying had calmed down.

"She said *hic* he was a demon and *hic* that I was *hic* possessed. I-I tried to tell her he was a nice *hic* ghost but she wouldn't *hic* listen." Ryou told his Mummy through her shirt. Mrs. Bakura stiffened at this that had been her first worry too. When the possibility that Mr. Spirit wasn't imaginary finally started to seem true. Now she was extremely glad she didn't act on it. Amber's response had obviously upset Ryou. She didn't want to think about how he would have taken it if she had responded that way.

"Did anything else happen? Amber didn't tell me anything about her planning to call an extortionist." Said Mrs. Bakura after she was certain Ryou had calmed down a little more.

"Promise you won't be mad at him?" Questioned Ryou as he nuzzled his head into his Mummy's shoulder.

"Only if he didn't hurt her." Answered Mrs. Bakura as she moved to allow Ryou to sit in her lap. Mrs. Bakura reasoned that Ryou had asked the question, because the Spirit had respond in a bad way. She knew the only way she could promise to not be mad at the Spirit was if she said she would still be mad if he had hurt Amber. That would suggest he was a dangerous ghost after all.

"He didn't hurt her honest. He just got really mad that she was calling him a demon and saying I was possessed. He got so mad she could hear him when he was yelling at her that was it. He just yelled at her then disappeared." Said Ryou hoping to persuade his Mummy that Mr. Spirit didn't do anything to bad.

"He only yelled at her Ryou. I won't be mad at him for yelling at her. It seemed like an alright time to get a little mad at her and if he just yelled at her then I'm not mad. Why were you worried that I would be mad at him?" Answered Mrs. Bakura glad that was all the Spirit did.

Amber hearing the Spirit sealed the deal for Mrs. Bakura there was a Spirit following around her son a real one not an imaginary friend. At the same time she wasn't worried or scared. The Spirit passed her test. He wasn't here to hurt her son or anyone else it seemed, so he could stay until they figured something else out.

"Because I think he's scared you're mad at him. He went and disappeared after yelling at Amber. I think he went into the Ring I got from Daddy. That's where he came from the first time he showed up. He said he wasn't coming to dinner and I think it's because he's scared you will be mad." Explained Ryou his crying had stopped a while ago and he seemed to have calmed down. Mr. Spirit not being in trouble completely calmed him. He held up the Ring he had been holding since Amber had left. Showing it to his Mummy to see where he believed Mr. Spirit hid when he wasn't with them.

"He's in the Ring your father gave you? Guess that explains how you got an Egyptian ghost." Mrs. Bakura laughed surprised she hadn't thought of the ghost being in their sooner. It made sense if he was from Egypt he had to of come from the only Egyptian object Ryou owned.

Though her husband had sworn it was a fake and not a real artifact when they talked over the line last. Something about it being in too good of a condition and not being made of pure gold. Guess her archaeologist husband was wrong for once when it came to ancient Egypt.

"So would you like to invite him out for dinner? The pizza is almost ready and I have a great story from work I'm sure both of you will love." Offered Mrs. Bakura after she had calmed down her laughter.

"Yes! I'll let him know you're not mad." Said Ryou happy once again. His mother laughter had brought back his cheerfulness. "Oh Mr. Spirit here my call and answer." Chanted Ryou liked he always did to summon the Spirit.

The Spirit heard Ryou's usual call, but didn't immediately come out. He wanted to wait a few days for everything to blow over before he left the Ring again. Though his patience level for dealing with all the screeching in the ring was already reaching its limit. So he decided to leave the inner parts of the ring and try to see what the kid wanted without leaving it.

When Mr. Spirit didn't immediately come out of the Ring like he usually did. Ryou decide to try again. When that didn't work he decide to talk to the Ring hoping Mr. Spirit could hear him inside.

"It's okay Mr. Spirit you can come out now. Mummy's not mad promise and the pizza's almost ready. So you gotta come out for dinner." Spoke Ryou to the Ring still sitting in his Mum's lap.

"That's right Mr. Spirit I'm not mad and dinner's almost ready, so you better come out and join us." Said Mrs. Bakura hoping it would help the Spirit come out of the Ring. So Ryou would get up and she could pull the pizza before it burned.

The Spirit was surprised he didn't expect to hear Ryou's Mother outside the Ring. He figured what they were saying must be true if they were both asking him to come out. He was so sure Ryou's Mother would be trying to get rid of him as soon as she found out what happened. Yet she seemed just as happy as her son and what was stranger was she wasn't talking to him as if she was putting on a front for Ryou. Did she truly believe he existed now and if she did then why wasn't she trying to get rid of him? The Spirit decided the only way to figure out what was going on was to leave the Ring. So he did, it wasn't that hard of a choice really.

Mrs. Bakura was actually surprised to feel a change in temperature the moment she saw the eye on Ryou's Ring glow the room instantly got cooler. Not cold, but certainly not as warm as it was before. Oh and Ryou's Ring was glowing . . .What!? She certainly didn't expect that any last doubt she could have had was gone with the glow of that Ring. She heard a gasp from Ryou and saw him circle his head around them before settling on the wall next to the doorway to the living room. She assumed that meant Mr. Spirit had materialized over there, but as before she couldn't see him.

"Hi," said the Spirit awkwardly not knowing what to say and just hoping he wasn't wrong about Mrs. Bakura not being angry.

"Hi Mr. Spirit! I'm glad you came out! I was worried you would miss dinner," Greeted Ryou excitedly.

"Mr. Spirit I'm glad you could join us tonight. Ryou told me you were worried I would be mad at you. So I just wanted to tell you I'm not mad. Now Ryou why don't you and Mr. Spirit go set the table while I get your sister. Before pulling the pizza." Spoke Mrs. Bakura first to the Spirit then to Ryou.

"Okay," said Ryou getting up from his mother's lap. "Come on Mr. Spirit you can hold the plates while I put them where they go. Don't worry about dropping them we use the plastic ones on pizza night." Said Ryou as he headed to the cabinet where the plastic plates were. They were in a lower cabinet so Ryou could get a plate whenever he needed one.

Mrs. Bakura stood up and stretched as Ryou opened the cabinet. She then left to get Amane up from her nap. Once Mrs. Bakura returned with the toddler in her arms she was overcome with what she saw. Ryou was walking around the table talking as he went putting a plate and cup at every place. Following behind him was a floating stack of plates. That would take some getting used to Mrs. Bakura thought, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to get used to she decided.

"Ryou you forgot to get a sippy cup for Amane." Said Mrs. Bakura as she walked into the kitchen. She wasn't oblivious to how Ryou and the stack of floating plates froze at their walk around the table when she walked in and sat Amane down at her booster seat. Only after did she realize this was probably how Amber found them. Ryou talking and having fun with a floating object. The two didn't unfreeze until Mrs. Bakura turned to the stove to get out the pizza.

"Ouch. Uh sorry for forgetting Amane’s sippy cup I'll go get it now. Mr. Spirit don't hold the plates in one hand you'll drop them!" Coming from behind Mrs. Bakura as she moved the pizza back onto its box and started cutting it.

"Spirit if you drop those plates you're going to be the one cleaning them." Mrs. Bakura said over her shoulder as she finished cutting the pizza.

"He said he won't," Answered Ryou as he returned to the table with Amane's cup. Mrs. Bakura had set down the pizza, as the Spirit set down the last plate. She then went to the fridge to get the drinks.

After the drinks had been poured, juice for the kids and pop for Mrs. Bakura. Mrs. Bakura said a blessing over the food and everyone started eating their pizza. This was one meal Amane didn't need help with after her pizza was cut into small pieces and for that Mrs. Bakura was grateful.

"Mummy our game was really fun today. We played Go Fish!" Told Ryou through mouth full of pizza.

"I know you mentioned that earlier. Who won?" Inquired his Mum making sure her mouth wasn't full of pizza when she talked.

"I don't know. We weren't able to finish." Said Ryou starting to get sad again he thought about the end of their afternoon.

"I believe I was only one more set away from winning." Said the Spirit surprisingly joining in on the conversation.

"Yeah, but I was about to have another set once you gave me your Jack. Then we would have been tied again." Responded Ryou after telling his Mummy what Mr. Spirit had said.

"I didn't have a Jack I don't even know what a "jack" is." Said the Spirit not wanting to admit how neck and neck that last game was.

He wasn't the best at card games alright. Checkers and Battleship he could easily win at, but card games had more strategies than he could keep track of. When it came to what your opponent was doing it was easier for him to pick it up on boards where he could look back on his opponent’s moves instead of relying on his own memory to remember what his opponent did 8 turns ago.

Ryou started laughing at the Spirit's response, remembering what the Spirit said when he was confused during the game. After explaining to his Mummy why he was laughing he didn't expect the question she asked him.

"Ryou do you know what a Jack is? Other than the name of a card in a deck of cards." Asked Mrs. Bakura slightly turning the joking conversation against her son.

"Uhhhhhh. Yeaahh. It's umm. Someone who is uh. Stop laughing I'm trying to think! It's someone who works for the king right? I mean yeah that's who it is! Someone who works for the King. See I knew the answer." Said Ryou triumphantly to the Spirit after stumbling for a while trying to find the answer. The Spirit laughing as soon as the question was asked didn't help him think.

"Can you be a little more specific? I could have told you that." Said the Spirit to mess with Ryou. He had found out bugging Ryou was a quite enjoyable way to spend these mandatory meals. Other than having staring contests with the toddler. Which had once again been interrupted by Ryou, next time.

"No you couldn't. You didn't know what a King was until today." Argued back Ryou by this point finishing his first piece of pizza.

"I knew what a King was I just didn't know which card and letter stood for King." Answered the Spirit slightly offended by the idea that he didn't know what a king was.

"Well you definitely didn't know what an Ace was." Responded Ryou taking a drink of his juice.

"That's not one of the cards I asked about." Said the Spirit deciding to go with denial.

"Yes it was." "No it wasn't" "Was" "Wasn't" "WAs" "WASn't" "WAS" "was" "WASN'T!!! Wait"

"Ha wasn't you just agreed."

"No you tricked me! You cheated. Mummy he cheated!"

"Don't be a snitch. I didn't cheat it wasn't even a game."

"You still tricked me! So it doesn't count!"

"Does" "Doesn't" "Does" "DOESN'T" "DOE-"

"BOYS ENOUGH." Yelled Mrs. Bakura getting them both to pause from their argument and look at her. "Ryou sit down and finish your dinner. Spirit sit down and I don't want to hear another nagging comment from either of you." Said Mrs. Bakura sternly as they did what they were told. Mrs. Bakura had been helping Amane clean her face when the squabble started and had hoped it would quickly die down on its own. When it didn't, but instead escalated Mrs. Bakura took charge and ended it.

"You can't hear me if I did say another comment." Mumbled the Spirit embarrassed and surprised at getting yelled at.

"So do you guys want to hear an interesting story from my work today?" Offered Mrs. Bakura once everyone had settled down and the silence started to feel awkward.

"Sure Mummy. What did you do today?" Asked Ryou cool with the change of subject.

"Well I was assigned to the maternity ward today and helped deliver a pair of twins!" Said Mrs. Bakura talking about her job as a nurse.

"What's a Maternity ward?" Asked the Spirit knowing what twins were and assuming she was a midwife, but not understanding what a maternity was.

"I don't know, but it's one of the many wards Mummy works at. Sometimes she's in the Emergency ward, or the sick people ward, or the old people ward, and sometimes she works in the kids ward." Ryou said trying to explain.

"Sweet heart not all of those places end in ward." Chuckled Mrs. Bakura as she corrected him. "The Maternity ward is where expectant mothers go when they're going to have a baby. I help them when we are short on nurses, but usually I work with the elderly in the senior living next door to the hospital." Explained Mrs. Bakura facing the Spirit. "Anyway there was a lot of mothers coming in and they called me to help, so I got to deliver twins. One’s a boy and the other is a girl, both the babies and mommy is healthy and we don't think there will be any problems. Of course we don't know for sure yet if there won't be problems in the future." Told Mrs. Bakura as she finished her story.

The Spirit was surprised that the woman who gave birth to twins and the twins themselves all survived. Sure is happened in Egypt, but it was really rare. Bakura just added it to his list of things that had majorly changed since he had been alive. By the time Mrs. Bakura was done talking about the twins. Ryou had finished his last slice of pizza and had started to get up to get ready for bed. The Spirit took this as his cue to leave. He once again told Ryou to thank his Mum for letting him join them for dinner and added an extra thanks for not being mad about the nanny for good measure before going into the Ring.

Going into the Ring wasn't the gradual change it had been in past trips. Instead it was cool like being tossed in icy water. It was sudden, uncomfortable, and unwelcoming. That wasn't the only change the Spirit noticed as he went into the Ring. The Voices were louder than normal yelling and screeching at volumes he hadn't heard since the Ring had been in at it's making place and that had been a very long time ago. The darkness was angry too, the Spirit could feel it if just barely over all the noise, and this time the anger seemed to be directed at him. The Spirit didn't need any more encouragement to get out of the Ring. He didn't know why everything was going all weird in the Ring and he didn't need to know. He just had to GET OUT OF THERE!

That's how he found himself running into a ceiling covered with glow star stickers and falling back on a comforter covered in little ghosts painted with glow in the dark paint. The less than graceful landing didn't go unnoticed and the other occupant of the bed awoke with a start at the feeling of weight landing in their bed.

"Mr. Spirit?" Questioned a sleepy Ryou. "What are you doing here? I thought you slept in the Ring since you go there when you're not here."

"Uh, I decided sleeping in the Ring wasn't the best idea tonight. So I thought (without really thinking about it) I'd crash into your ceiling and then sleep on your floor. If that's alright with you." Said the Spirit thinking up an excuse on the spot.

"Sure you can sleep here it will be like a sleep over. You don't have to sleep on the floor you can sleep on the bed with me. I have an extra pillow." Offered Ryou excited about the idea of a sleep over.

"Alright, but only because I'm too deep into sleep to get up and move to the floor." Said the Spirit moving under the blankets and taking the offered pillow.

"You're not asleep." Giggled Ryou settling back in.

"Nope totally asleep." Said the Spirit closing his eyes. The two quickly fell asleep with the Spirit having the most peaceful sleep he had, had in centuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was me dipping my toe in the angst pool. There will be more sad coming, because *cough*carcrash*cough* so this was just minor testing. Also note that Bakura totally does this in the future. Tosses the cuter one in front of the adults so he can get out of trouble. 
> 
> Since this is about Ryou's childhood there's going to be OCs. All of them will be minor and only show up for one chapter and rarely two. So if you don't like one don't worry about it you probably won't see them again. Amber isn't technically an OC but if she does show up again she'll be very different.
> 
> Next chapter should be up in a few days since it's already done and up on fanfiction. net.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Darkhorse out!


	6. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Saturday! You know what that means. Saturday morning cartoons! Also Ryou and Bakura try their hands at the Hardest puzzle ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the chapter you were supposed to get and it didn't take a year this time! I rewrote this chapter three times. The first time resulted in me rewriting and reorganizing all the chapters after this. But hey I'm back! And with a really long chapter! AND I have this fic outlined to the end! Which should be exactly 20 chapters. Unless one gets too long and I split it into two chapters (spoilers almost happened to this chapter). This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful help30cl on fanfiction. They offered to help way back when I posted the previous chapter, so thank them for the help getting this chapter out to you guys!
> 
> I'd also like to give one little shout out to tumblr user somefxckingnerd. They wrote a one shot that is two years old now. Said one-shot inspired this entire fic. The middle of this chapter includes a rehash of the kitchen scene and is the reason I decided to write this fic. So that whole idea was his. I'm not trying to just steal his idea. I tried to keep the scene from being word for word like his. Anyway hope you like this chapter and I recommend reading the one-shot that started this.
> 
> right here http://somefxckingnerd.tumblr.com/post/128508373773/the-kitchen-incident
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

"Wake Up Mr. Spirit! Wake up! We're going to miss Krypto." Spoke Ryou, way too loudly at 7 am on a Saturday, as he shook the sleeping Spirit.

"Nuhg, it's too early go back to sleep," grumbles the sleepy Spirit into his pillow. That was the best sleep ever and he didn't want it to end.

"But if we go back to sleep we’ll miss all the morning cartoons on the telle." Said Ryou still try to get the Spirit out of bed.

"Why don't you go and watch the cartoons while I go back to sleep," offered the Spirit. Finally lifting his head out of his pillow.

"But I want you to meet Krypto. Krypto the Super-dog! Krypto! UP, UP AND AWAY!" Ryou started to badly sing the Krypo theme song.

"Ugh," groaned the Spirit burying his head under the pillow again. "Fine, only if you stop singing."

"Yay! You're going to love it! I'll show you all my favorite shows and introduce you to all my favorite characters!" Said Ryou, finally able to drag the Spirit out of the bed and towards the door.

The Spirit in that moment made the realization that the boy could touch him. He hadn't had a chance to test that out yet and made a mental note about it. Who knew when that would come in handy.

The Spirit was happy to find out that watching the "telle" entailed sitting on a couch and pretending to be awake. At least that's what it ended up being for him since he didn't care much for the colorful children shows on the screen.

"Good Morning Ryou," greeted Mrs. Bakura as she entered the living room with Amane in her arms.

"Good Morning Mummy."  Ryou was sitting on the very end of the couch, leaving a large space open. Mrs. Bakura noticed the slight chill in the living and was reminded of everything that had happened the day before.

"So Ryou how did you convince Spirit to join you for your shows this early in the morning?" Mrs. Bakura walked across the room to Amane's play pen and set her down.

"It was hard. Mr. Spirit wouldn't wake up and now he's hogging the entire couch to take a nap!" Explained Ryou all of his attention was turned to his Mum since there was a commercial break happening.

"It's not the entire couch. I let you have a spot didn't I?" The irritated Spirit was once again woken up.

"It's not enough." Ryou tried to push the Spirit's legs off the couch with little success.

"You do know the spot you're sitting on has a pull out right?" Asked Mrs. Bakura coming over. The silence from both told her that no, they did not remember. "On your left Spirit there's a plastic piece in the couch pull it out and the leg rest will come out."

"Interesting," Said the Spirit as he pulled the lever and the leg rest popped out.

"Thanks Mummy!" Said Ryou gratefully to his mother.

"You’re welcome dear. I'm going to start on the laundry. Remember to get a pop tart for breakfast and remember to keep an eye on Amane." Mrs. Bakura left the living room to start her Saturday chores.

"Okay Mummy we will," answered Ryou for both of them.

At Mrs. Bakura's comment on Amane the Spirit turned and for the first time noticed the toddler in her playpen. Amane was playing with a stuffed animal and looked up when the Spirit looked over and smiled. The Spirit will deny smiling back. Ryou quickly got back into his shows, Sonic X was now on, and the Spirit went back to napping.

When Mrs. Bakura came back into the living room it was close to noon and the Saturday morning shows Ryou usually watched were over.

"I'm going to start lunch after I change Amane's diaper. Why don't you show Mr. Spirit one of the episodes you have on VHS while I do that." Offered Mrs. Bakura hoping to keep Ryou entertained until she had lunch done.

"Okay Mummy, I know! Mr. Spirit we can watch Courage the Cowardly Dog." Mrs. Bakura overheard as she left for the bathroom. The next time she walked past the living room she could hear the Courage theme song and Ryou explaining the show in that quick tone he got when he was excitedly explaining something.

Mrs. Bakura went into the kitchen, put Amane in her chair, and started on lunch. She had extra time since Ryou would probably want to watch an entire episode. Mrs. Bakura turned on the radio and got out the food she would be cooking; chicken Alfredo seemed like a good choice. She put the frozen broccoli in the microwave and started cooking the chicken. Just as the chicken finished and she put the noodles in a pot to boil, her favorite song “I’m in the Mood for Dancing” started to play. Mrs. Bakura couldn't help herself she started to dance around the kitchen putting on a little show for her daughter whose eyes never left her mother's moving form.

When the Amane's eyes were distracted by something else Mrs. Bakura noticed and turned expecting to see Ryou in the doorway. Mrs. Bakura was surprised to see an empty doorway and a still staring daughter. She quickly figured out that the Spirit must be at the door and Amane was looking at him.

Mrs. Bakura smiled and just kept dancing to the song, until she got the idea to invite the Spirit that was still at the door to join her. She gestured for him to come dance with her. It took a moment, but she was surprised when she felt a cold feeling fill her open arms. He wasn't dancing with her, but she didn't mind he was joining in and that's all that mattered. They were nearing the last few lyrics when she felt him start to sway too. They were dancing!

"Mummy is lunch almost done?" Ryou asked from the doorway and with that the cold left Mrs. Bakura's arms and the song switched.

"Yes, sweetheart I just have to finish the noodles and add the sauce. Why don't you wash your hands and set the table." Mrs. Bakura answered moving past what just happened. Had she really been dancing with a spirit!? What had gotten over her?

Ryou went to the bathroom and Mrs. Bakura mixed the broccoli, chicken, and noodles into the Alfredo sauce.  After the table was set and food served, Mrs. Bakura said the blessing and they started to eat.

"Mummy, why were you and Mr. Spirit dancing?" Ryou apparently didn’t miss what they had been doing when he came in.

"Well it started with me just dancing by myself and then Spirit came into the kitchen, so I invited him to dance with me and he did." Mrs. Bakura simply told him the truth.

"I didn't mean to make him leave." Ryou said quietly.

"Oh you just surprised him a little. He was probably embarrassed that you saw him dancing. He hasn't done it in a long while after all." Mrs. Bakura thought up an excuse, not knowing the Spirit's real reason for leaving so suddenly.

"I could help him if he isn't good at it. I'm already helping him with being polite!" Ryou said excitedly.

"Maybe you can. Next time we dance you can join us and give us pointers." Mrs. Bakura saw Ryou's enthusiasm as cute and decided to play along.

For once Ryou didn't have trouble finishing his vegetables and finished lunch quickly. He went up to his room while his Mummy to put Amane down for her nap.

\-----------------------------line break---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Spirit couldn't take it! He had no idea why the voices were this angry and he just couldn't stand the noise. The Spirit had planned to go into the Ring and staying there for the rest of the day pondering what had possessed him to dance with Ryou's mother. But with the non-stop noise he was finding it harder and harder to hear his own thoughts.

"Screw this," the Spirit thought. "It's quieter in Ryou's living room with all those stupid "cartoons". He’d have to face Ryou eventually anyway." Were the Spirit's final thoughts as he left the Ring.

"Why are we not in the Living room?" Questioned the Spirit after he identified his new location.

"Mr. Spirit!" cried Ryou joyfully as he grabbed the Spirit’s arm. "I was worried since you were here watching shows with me this morning. You wouldn't come this afternoon and play with me." Chatted Ryou as he took the Spirit towards the shelf excited to pick another game they could play.

"Fine I'll play a game with you, but whatever we play has to be quiet and not require talking. I came out here to find silence not pointless chatter." The Spirit looked at the offered games.

"Okay Amane's taking a nap so we have to be quiet anyway," Said Ryou just happy to get to play with the Spirit. "Oh I know we can make this puzzle I got for my birthday! It has ghosts on it and if you turn of the lights it's supposed to glow in the dark!" Ryou grabbed the mentioned puzzle and showed it to the Spirit.

"Alright seems easy enough." The Spirit looked at the offered box and the picture on it.

"No it's 200 pieces. I've never finished a puzzle with more than a 100 pieces, so this is a super hard puzzle." Ryou poured out all the pieces onto the floor. “That definitely looked like 200 pieces” thought the Spirit.

"How are we supposed to do this?" Asked the Spirit already getting frustrated with how little of an image was on each piece.

"My Mummy taught me that the easiest way to start a big puzzle it to find all the edges and make the frame." Ryou started going through all the pieces and pick out the edges.

"That makes sense," said the Spirit joining Ryou in looking for the edges. The two fell into a comfortable silence sorting and building the frame. In comfortable silence it wasn’t long until they finished the border. Unfortunately putting together the ghosts wasn’t as quite an endeavor.  
   
"Do you have a white piece with a smidge of the corner of a mouth on it?" The Spirit had looked through his pile of pieces for the final piece of this ghost and couldn’t find it.

"Let me check. What color of white?" Ryou started looking through his pile.

"I don't know. White. Not the gray white, a white white I guess." The Spirit didn’t know how to describe the color of white.

"White White? Is this it?" Ryou offered the Spirit a piece he found in his pile.

"No that's a yellow white and that mouth is a smile. Mine just needs the half of a circle mouth." The Spirit handed back the piece.

"Ohhhh, an open mouth. Is this it?"

"Yes! You had it in your hand the entire time?" Said the Spirit slightly frustrated with this fact.

"You didn't tell me it was a circle mouth! And I was busy looking at pieces on the floor!"

"Whatever where's the box? So I know where to put this ghost." The Spirit didn’t want to argue about it.

"Here. I think that ghost goes in the corner by the old house." Ryou looked at the box as he handed it over to the Spirit to look at.

"No it's just like the ghost in front of the tombstone so it goes on the other side of the puzzle." The Spirit compared his ghost piece to the box.

"No the tails are different see. It goes by the house, besides that ghost is too big to fit in the little spot between the tombstone and the street lamp." Ryou pointed to different parts of the puzzle as he spoke.

"Then what's the gray thing in the corner of my ghost piece? That's the same color as the tombstone." Said the Spirit still believing he was right.

"That's the roof shingles"

"Hey!"

"See it fits" Ryou said triumphantly after taking the ghost piece from the Spirit and put it in the place he thought it should go.

"No those pieces on that side don't perfectly fit."

"That's because the piece you put there is part of the tree trunk, not part of the side of the house." Ryou removed the offending piece and moved it to where it belonged.

"I'm pretty sure you put that piece there." The Spirit didn’t want to be wrong two times in a row.

"No I put together the spires on top of the house you found the house side pieces remember." Argued Ryou knowing he didn't put that piece in the wrong place.

"So what if it was me all these gray pieces look the same and all of the white pieces look the same. How is anyone supposed to tell the difference between these pieces!?" The Spirit was frustrated that he was losing the game even though it wasn't an actual competition.

"That's what makes it a hard puzzle. This might be the hardest puzzle in the whole World! That's why all the pieces look the same so we can't solve it. If it's too hard for us we could go and pick an easier one. I have a few 100 piece puzzles I've never finished before."

"No we started this one. If we stop now, this was all a waste of time and we would have to waste more time doing a different puzzle we haven't sorted yet." The Spirit didn’t want to give up on a challenge just because it was hard.

"Okay! Then do you have a sky cloud piece that has a little bit of leaves in the corner?" Ryou asked once they again got back into the puzzle.

"I have like nine pieces that fit that description. Ugh curse you Nut and your huge sky." The Spirit ended up just giving Ryou all the pieces that looked sort of like the right blue gray to be part of the sky.

"Nut is a sky goddess right?" At the Spirit’s confused/surprised face Ryou continued. "My daddy told me about her. She turned into a cow in the sky right?" Ryou started looking through the sky pieces the Spirit gave him trying to find the ends of the trees.

"Um Hathor actually turned into the sky cow, her hide was covered in all the stars man could ever see. Nut was the sky goddess during the day and carried Ra the sun. Hathor held up the stars and carried the moon during the night." The Spirit corrected Ryou. He was surprised the kid knew so much about the gods. Most kids just learned about the big gods and there town gods, few at his age knew the stories behind the gods.

"Oh right! Hathor she turned into the sky, she's my favorite goddess." Said Ryou finally remembering the goddess and finally finding the tree/sky piece he was looking for.

"Really? What interest could you have in a goddess of love and beauty? Surely you like Isis better she is the Queen of the afterlife after all." The Spirit was curious as to why the boy identified with this goddess specifically. The Spirit was finishing another ghost and Ryou had moved on to the tombstones.

"Yeah, but Isis is mean she made a snake to bite Ra and Hathor is in the afterlife too. She gives food and drink to the souls that traveled all that way to be judged by a feather and a crocodile." Ryou thought for a moment about his answer. The Spirit had moved on to the moon and was trying to tell the difference between the ghost in front of it and the moon itself.

"I guess Hathor is the only welcoming party you get when you die, but Hathor isn't the nicest either. I mean you have heard of the story of when beer saved the world right?" The Spirit chuckled at the idea of Hathor being "nicer".

"Why would beer save the world?" Ryou obviously had never heard that story.

"So "daddy" didn't tell you this one huh." 

"Daddy said there were some Egyptian stories he couldn't tell me until I was older. Said to wait until I was a big boy." Ryou once again reminded the Spirit how young his host was.

"Well then do I have some stories to tell you! When you’re older of course." The Spirit corrected himself when he saw how excited the kid got. He decided it wasn't a good idea to break his innocence this early. The gods could be pretty messed up sometimes.

"Aww, why can't you tell me the stories now? I won't tell my Daddy you told me pinky promise." Ryou forgot the puzzle and offered the Spirit his pinky finger.

"Sorry kid I'm not getting in trouble for ruining your innocence or whatever." The Spirit continued to look for the last few pieces they needed to finish the puzzle.

"Okay, but you have to tell me a story, one that won't ruin my innocence. Deal?" Asked Ryou still not returning to the puzzle.

"Hmm... Deal." I can probably think of few stories reasoned the Spirit. The kid had just made a deal with HIM not the other way around. Ryou didn't even know what he just did. "Haha."

"What's so funny? We can shake on it if you don't want to pinky promise." Ryou never understood what humored the Spirit.

"Nothing. It's nothing. We can just pinky promise on it I guess." The Spirit offered up his pinky after he had recollected himself.

"Okay," Ryou intertwined his pinky around the Spirit’s. "Pinky Promise" Ryou said followed by the Spirit right after him as they shook their hands up and down once.

"Let's finally finish this “way more difficult than it should be” puzzle." The Spirit wanted to move passed the way to sweet almost sentimental moment.

"Right were really close!" Ryou finally got back to the puzzle and started putting in the pieces the Spirit was having trouble with.

"So why is it loud in the Ring?" Ryou finally asked when they were close to finishing the puzzle.

"What?" The Spirit was pulled from his musing about how binding a pinky promise was.

"You said you came here to "find silence" and you live in the Ring. So I was wondering, why is it loud in a Ring? What's making all the noise?" Ryou was a little too curious for his own good.

"Nothing you need to worry about, it's just louder than usual is all. The noise should quiet down soon." Answered the Spirit simply, trying to convince himself that things would return to normal in the Ring.

"Yeah, but what's causing the noise in the first place? How can there even be noise in the Ring? I can't hear anything." Ryou held the Ring up to his ear and tried to listen. The Spirit wouldn’t admit to finding this slightly amusing.

"Hey! Remember when I said it had to be a no talking game. Yeah let’s go back to that." The Spirit’s mood swiftly changed and he grumpily threw a piece at Ryou.

"Ow! It was just a question." Ryou as he threw his own piece back at the Spirit.

“Well you should learn when to not ask questions.” The Spirit frowned any amusement from the conversation was quickly evaporating.

“Well it’s my Ring! I should be allowed to know if there’s something wrong with it!”

The Spirit glared and stood. “The Ring only has one owner and that’s Me. Don’t you ever suggest you have a right to know what goes on in it!” The Spirit was royally pissed. How dare this kid interrogate him?

Ryou frowned at this leaning away from the Spirit. “I just wanted to help.”

The Spirit snorted, “Like I would need help from a six year old.”

“Hey! Just, cause I’m six doesn’t mean I can’t help!” Ryou yelled back at the Spirit.

“I have everything under control; I don’t want to hear any more of your pointless questions!”

“Ryou? What’s with the yelling? You’re going to wake Amane up from her nap.” Mrs. Bakura interrupted the heating argument by poking her head in the door.

Mrs. Bakura was surprised. Ryou’s room was at least 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house. Ryou was sitting in front of a nearly finished puzzle glaring at thin air.

“Mummy!” Ryou turned around surprised. “Mummy, Mr. Spirit won’t let me help him fix the Ring!”

“What’s wrong with the Ring?” Mrs. Bakura was confused, why was the Spirit making the room so cold?

“Nothing that concerns either of you!” The Spirit was done. He was tired of people asking questions about the Ring. “In fact! I’m going back in the Ring! At least those voices don’t ask stupid questions!”

The Spirit in his rush to leave lunged towards the Ring instead of dissolving into it like he usually did. Ryou on instinct flinched back. Mrs. Bakura stepped forward just as there was a large flash of light and she was blinded for a moment.

“Ryou!? Are you okay?”

“Yeah Mummy I’m fine.” Was the reply as Mrs. Bakura’s eyes cleared up.

“What happened!? Did the Spirit hurt you?”

“No Mummy he just got mad. He went into the Ring I think.” Ryou was looking down at the argued about item.

“The Ring’s never flashed like that before right?”

“No Mummy. There’s something wrong with it, but Mr. Spirit won’t tell me what!” Ryou was clearly frustrated by this fact.

“Well sweetheart maybe Spirit doesn’t want to worry you.” Mrs. Bakura absentmindedly tried to comfort Ryou, while her mind raced. What was wrong with the Ring? Why did the Spirit get angry and refuse to explain? Could whatever was wrong with the Ring hurt Ryou!?

\------------------------line break-----------------------------------------

This was bad, Mrs. Bakura thought. Not only did the Spirit freak out and “attack” the one allowing it in the house, there was also something wrong with its Ring. The problem was causing it to lash out. That settled it she decided as she fed and put Ryou to bed. She was going to pull out a few old tomes and find out more about this spirit. She had been to ignorant before and she couldn’t let this continue. This was all running through her mind as she made a special call that night.

"Hello this is the Britain Excavation Team how may I help you?" A monotone voice came through the phone.

"Yes this is Mrs. Bakura calling. Could you put be in touch with my husband?" Mrs. Bakura hoped she wouldn't be waiting long.

"Oh yes he's waiting on another line Mrs. Bakura. Hold for just a moment while I connect you." The operator caused a click on the line before Mrs. Bakura could respond.

"Hello?" Greeted another man on the line.

"Hi Sweet Heart, just calling from England." Mrs. Bakura greeted her husband.

"Hi darling! How are things going? How are the kids?" Mr. Bakura asked.

"Great! The kids are great! Amane has another tooth growing in." Mrs. Bakura sat down at the kitchen table.

"Aww by the time I get back Amane will have her wisdom teeth coming in." Mr. Bakura joked, “And how's Ryou?"

"Good. He actually got a new imaginary friend." Mrs. Bakura said, hinting at the Spirit. She didn’t know how else to mention it to her husband.

"Really? That's good! I'm glad he's doing that, it's good for kids his age to be imaginative and creative. What kind of imaginary friend did he think up?" Mr. Bakura was completely on board with Ryou having an imaginary friend and completely oblivious to it actually being a ghost.

"Well he calls it "Mr. Spirit" and says it came from the Ring you gave him for his Birthday. Also says Mr. Spirit doesn't have good manners. Mr. Spirit helped him build a puzzle today." Mrs. Bakura was cautious of what she told her husband. Maybe she shouldn’t tell him her fears. It would just worry him and what if he didn’t believe her?

"My gift huh? It's cool of him to think up an Egyptian ghost for his imaginary friend. I'll remember to tell him more about the common Egyptian people for his imaginary friend when I get back." Ryou's father quickly got behind the idea of an Egyptian imaginary friend.

"Yeah I'm sure Ryou would love to hear more about you work dear. Speaking of which how is the dig going?" Mrs. Bakura wanted to move the conversation away from Ryou's "Imaginary" friend that may or may not try to harm them in the near future.

"The dig's going good. We moved onto another house in the village and are ahead of schedule. Some of the guys and I are planning to go sightseeing in a few days. Like normal tourists." Mr. Bakura started talking fast like Ryou did sometimes.

"I'm glad you’re getting to go sightseeing. It's sort of pointless to go all the way to Egypt and not see some of the temples and monuments. Make sure to take pictures," Mrs. Bakura was starting to miss her husband. It was difficult at times to deal with your husband being gone half the year.

"I will dear. I've got to go. Tell the kids that I love them." Mr. Bakura said as a beep happened over the line.

"I will. I love you!" Mrs. Bakura stood up from the table.

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye." They hung up at the same time.

Mrs Bakura stood in the kitchen for a moment staring down at the phone in her hand. She decided she would tell her husband about the Spirit in person, when he returned from the expedition. He would hopefully take it better in person. Who was she kidding? he would think she was crazy for a second no matter where she said it. Maybe she will have gotten rid of the Spirit by then.

Then again Mrs. Bakura didn't know how that worked. Was this a spirit with unfinished business? Or a spirit that just needed to find peace and pass on. Or was it a dangerous spirit looking for revenge for its death? No it couldn't be that the Spirit was from an ancient Ring surely it would have already gotten revenge if that was the goal. Actually none of the traditional reasons really fit, except for the soul being attached to an object, which was definitely a thing. And perhaps a host? Ryou has been wearing the Ring and he's the only one who can really see the Spirit except for Amane. Why could Amane see it?

Mrs. Bakura realized how little she knew about this Spirit and how dangerous that was. It had already had two freak outs what if there were more? What if it got violent? As Mrs. Bakura got ready for bed she decided that tomorrow she would figure out more about the Spirit. No more tip toeing around the issue. Mrs. Bakura would get her answers and if he was a risk to her family she would stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look the plot decided to show up. Yes there is a plot to this thing. Most of it will be Ryou and the Spirit playing games, but there is a planned plot in the background. The plot has to do with Mrs. Bakura so that will be fun! Reminder to check out the one-shot that started this fic if you haven't already read it. It's really good!
> 
> A few notes about this chapter.
> 
> One the myth about the goddesses Nut and Hathor are one version of the Egyptian sky myths. There are others but I decided to go with this one. Sorry if that conversation seemed out of place by the way. I just really like the Egyptian gods and their stories. I also wanted to show that Ryou knows a little more about Ancient Egypt than most kids.  
> Two I'm aware of how the timezones work between Egypt and Britain. Mr. Bakura was calling really late in the evening for Egypt but really early in the evening for Britain. I've been in a long distance relationship so I'm very familiar with that late night phone calls. Three Don't expect much Mr. Bakura in this just yet, he's going to be in Egypt for a little while longer. Also I hope it's obvious but I'm portraying him from what we knew before DsoD, so him going crazy and power hungry isn't going to happen here.
> 
> I hope to start updating more consistently now so expect the next chapter to not take a year more like a week.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Darkhorse Out!


	7. chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today Ryou and the Spirit play a game so easy a chicken can play it. But so stupid it fries a super computer. That's right! Tic-Tac-Toe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And this time it didn't take me a year. Yay! You can honestly blame my S/O. Who finally got into Yugioh, found my fics, and immediately demanded I update this one. But hey! That means I'll probably be updating this faster!

Chapter 6  

In the middle of the night, the noise in the Ring became too much and the Spirit found himself sneaking out of the Ring and sleeping on Ryou’s bed, on purpose this time. He was still frustrated with the questions Ryou asked him the night before. It also made him aware of just how curious Ryou’s mother was becoming. Such a person was a threat to the mission. He had to have autonomy to do what needed to be done when the Pharaoh arrived and he couldn’t risk her pushing her way into the situation.

He didn’t care if his light show last night scared her or not. He was getting stronger. If he had to guess he was fairly certain he could return the ring to Ryou no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. That is if he wanted to return the Ring to the noisy brat.

"Ryou, wake up we have to get ready for chapel." Mrs. Bakura said as she knocked on the door. The Spirit awoke in the process.

"Okay, Mummy. I'll be up in a second." A still sleepy Ryou said as he tossed his head back on his pillow not even registering that the Spirit had returned.

"Come kid. You got to get up for this Chapel thing." The Spirit did not want Mrs. Bakura to come back and open the door to a clearly colder room.

"Okay, just a second," Ryou said from under his pillow.

"Oh no," The Spirit chuckled darkly. "You pulled that one over your mother, but you're not pulling that one over me." The Spirit stated as he pushed Ryou out of the bed.

"Ow!" Ryou cried out as he hit the floor. “Why’d you do that!?”

“You’re awake now aren’t you?” The Spirit looked smugly over the side of the bed. Payback was a dish best served with a cold floor.

Ryou stuck out his tongue at the Spirit and quickly rushed to the bathroom while the Spirit laughed at him.

The Spirit waited in the hallway as Ryou brushed his hair and got dressed and then the two walked downstairs together to breakfast. The Spirit only having to focus for a second to change into Ryou's outfit.

"Good Morning Mummy! Good Morning Amane!" Ryou greeted the two people in the room as he sat down for breakfast.

"Good Morning Ryou!" Said Mrs. Bakura from the counter where she was getting breakfast ready.

"Ry!Ry!" Amane greeted her big brother from her seat at the table. The Spirit came in after Ryou and was greeted with the same happiness. "Spi! Spi! Spi!"

"Mummy! Amane just said Mr. Spirit's name!" Exclaimed Ryou excitedly.

"Did she? Amane what did you just say baby girl?" Mrs. Bakura asked hurrying over to the table.

"Spi! Spi!" Amane said again pointing towards the Spirit's seat.

"That's right Amane! Spirit, good Job!" Mrs. Bakura responded happily. She was glad that her daughter was starting to learn and use more words. Ryou was already a chatterbox at two after all. But it worried her that her daughter was growing up so comfortable around a ghost. Why had she been fine with this before?

The Spirit was surprised that the toddler had already learned the name everyone was calling him. He wasn't used to being around babies, but he was pretty sure it was supposed to take them awhile to learn names and new words.

"Ryou you might want to warn your mother about the food that's starting to burn in the kitchen." The Spirit warned after it became apparent no one else was paying attention and he really didn’t want to deal with a fire, for reasons he didn’t want to think about.

"Mummy! Mr. Spirit said to check the stove." Ryou relayed the Spirit's message.

"Oh, that's right! Phew, the pancake is just a little dark Ryou don't worry. Thank you, Spirit for pointing that out." Mrs. Bakura went back to finishing breakfast. She didn’t get it, he was furious and angry last night, but now he was helping prevent house fires? The rest of the pancakes were finished and Mrs. Bakura quickly had them dished out to Ryou and Amane.

"So Ryou, I was able to talk to your father last night. He said the dig was going good and to tell you that he loved you and your sister." Mrs. Bakura spoke while everyone ate.

"I'm happy the dig is going well. Has he found any mummies yet?" Ryou was always excited to hear about his father's work.

"No, I don't think they have found any mummies yet. Sorry Sweetheart, they're digging up an old village, not a secret burial ground." Mrs. Bakura chuckled at Ryou's question.

"Oh, well have they found an old microwave yet?" Ryou asked, trying to think of things that would be in an old village.

"We didn't have microwaves back then Ryou."

"Oh, then what did you have?" Ryou turned to the Spirit when he asked the question. Letting Mrs. Bakura know that the Spirit had answered Ryou's question and Ryou was now talking to him.

"Well our kitchens weren't much more than the fire we cooked our food over and the pot we cooked the food in." The Spirit answered thinking back to when he had actually lived in a house back then.

"But where did you keep your bread? And how did you keep your juice cold?" Ryou pointed to each item on the table as he mentioned them.

"The bread was kept in baskets and the "juice" wasn't kept cold. You couldn't keep anything cold in Kemet. It was always too hot." The Spirit easily answered all of Ryou's questions.

"Oh, that makes sense." Ryou said, "But what about-"

"Ryou why don't you focus on finishing your breakfast, and ask Spirit these questions later?" Mrs. Bakura didn’t want Ryou to ask a question about the Spirit’s past that angered him. It was too many questions that upset him last night after all.

"Sorry Mummy." Ryou got back to his breakfast.

Once Ryou had finished eating and Mrs. Bakura had cleaned up. They all got their shoes on and went to the car. While Mrs. Bakura was putting Amane in her car seat, Ryou waited in his booster seat, and the Spirit waited outside. The Spirit was contemplating whether he should get into the metal thing or risk waiting in the Ring. When Mrs. Bakura finished buckling in Amane and started closing the door.

"Wait, Mummy! Mr. Spirit has to get in still!" Ryou said realizing the Spirit was about to be left behind.

"Oh, that's right." Mrs. Bakura opened the front passenger seat door. She didn’t like the idea of him sitting in between her kids in such a small vehicle. Even if they could both see him.

Once again the Spirit was trapped. He couldn't just back out. So the Spirit stepped forward and got into the car. When Mrs. Bakura saw Amane's attention move to the front seat she decided it was now safe to close the door. She then got in the driver seat and started the car subtly turning up the heat on her side of the car.

Mrs. Bakura decided now would be the best time to ask the Spirit the questions she had been wanting to ask. Ryou wasn't distracted by anything else and she was pretty sure the Spirit wouldn't try to just vanish in a moving car. Especially with how bright of a flash it caused last night.

"So Mr. Spirit," Mrs. Bakura started catching the Spirit's attention. She rarely called him “Mr.” like Ryou did. "I realized something last night and I thought now would be a good time to discuss it. I realized that Ryou had told me you were from Kemet. But he never explained why you were in that ring." Mrs. Bakura asked as they waited at a stop light.

The Spirit froze. He didn’t like that she was asking questions about the thousands of years old battle. "It's complicated. I don’t actually remember ending up in the ring." He said lying through his teeth. No way was he going to tell her any of that.

"He said he doesn’t remember," Ryou answered for the Spirit.

"Well that can’t be right you’ve mentioned things from Ancient Egypt multiple times." Mrs. Bakura looked to the left, right at the Spirit.

The Spirit stumbled for a moment not expecting her to call him out so quickly. To be honest he remembered that battle far better than his life before it. Those five days were all he thought about for thousands of years after all. “I remember my life, not my death.” The Spirit lied again.

“He remembers being alive Mummy,” repeated Ryou.

"And not dying." Mrs. Bakura finished for him. She sighs and gives in, accepting the fact that she’s not going to get that answer out of the Spirit.

It’s not any of your business anyway grumbles the Spirit to himself. He was relieved she wasn’t pressing him more about it. He dealt with enough questions from Ryou the night before.

At that moment they pulled into the church parking lot. Mrs. Bakura was alright with that outcome of a conversation she was sure was going to go south. She didn’t get any answers, but the Spirit didn’t blow up in anger either. Meaning she could most likely ask him more questions at a later date.

They quickly hurried in, having only come for chapel and not Sunday school. Once they left Amane in the Nursery and found a set in the pews. Ryou quickly became bored. There wasn't something for someone his age to do during the service after all. The Spirit was slightly interested in how these people worshiped. Every town in Kemet worshipped a different god. Even if the Spirit had demolished any faith in the old gods he could have had. He still wanted to see how big of looneys Religious people were nowadays.

"Psh.... Mr. Spirit..." Ryou whispered as he sat in the pew during the sermon that just never seemed to end. "Want to play a game?" He whispered as he pointed the pencil at the piece of paper in his hands. Ryou was pointing at four lines etched out on the paper.

"Sure." Said the Spirit in his normal voice since no one other than Ryou could hear him. The Spirit had gotten bored when the sermon had started as well. Ryou pouted at how loud the Spirit was able to be but drew an O on the drawing anyway.

"You're supposed to draw an X," Ryou explained as he handed the paper to the Spirit, still whispering. The Spirit took the paper and pencil and drew an X randomly in one of the spaces not knowing where he was supposed to put it.

Ryou took back the paper and drew another O. This went back and forth two more times before Ryou drew a line through the O's and wrote an R and an S on top of the piece of paper he put a stroke under the R. Ryou drew another for lines and another O. After a few more rounds the Spirit understood the game it was a smaller version of connect four.

"I win." The Spirit said after the next game. Ryou drew a line and wrote a stroke under the S. The next five games the Spirit won easily, but on the fifth game, no one won. Ryou wrote Cat above this game and drew another four lines.

"Why did you write "Cat" over the tie? What does that mean?" The Spirit was confused.

"I don't know it's just what Daddy writes whenever we play this game," Ryou answered forgetting to whisper.

"Ryou shush Reverend Robert is talking." Mrs. Bakura hushed him not noticing the game the boy and spirit were playing.

"Sorry Mummy," Ryou whispered back embarrassed at how loud he had been.

Ryou and the Spirit played for six more games all of them ending it a "cat" as the Spirit had started calling them. Ryou had started changing how he played in order to find a way to beat the Spirit. That was causing all the draws. Ryou tried going second, started on the edge, starting in the middle, or just doing whatever and putting them in random places. This was frustrating the Spirit since he couldn't predict Ryou's moves to ensure his own victory.

"Ryou it's time to go and get your sister from the nursery." Said Mrs. Bakura ruining the two's concentration.

"Not yet Mummy! Mr. Spirit and I have to break this tie." Ryou looked up at his mother in all seriousness.

"What Tie?" Asked Mrs. Bakura looking at what Ryou was holding in his hands. "You two are playing tic-tac-toe?"

"Yeah! And the last seven games have been ties. So we have to play to break the tie."

"You know you could always break the tie with rock-paper-scissors." Mrs. Bakura joked suggesting the worst-tying game ever.

"No I have to beat him at tic-tac-toe or it's not the same win," Ryou said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright how about we have the tic-tac-toe tiebreaker at home?” Mrs. Bakura offered as she reached for the paper.

"Okay Mummy." Ryou handed his mother the bulletin that was now impossible to read.

"Let's go pick up your sister." Said Mrs. Bakura once again as she took Ryou's hand in her own.

Mrs. Bakura hadn’t really been listening to the sermon either. Instead, she was busy thinking back on everything she knew about ghosts. It had surprised her that the Spirit had been able to enter the church unhindered, but she didn’t want to think of those implications about her place of worship.

After they picked up Amane from the nursery, they headed home and unlike that morning there was a peaceful silence in the car.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ryou! Jason and I are going to play some football you want in?" A boy called running up with a black and white ball as Ryou got out of the car.

"Sorry, Jamie. Ryou just got back from Chapel. He has to eat lunch before he can come out and play." Mrs. Bakura answered for her son holding Amane in her arms. She had barely remembered to open the door for the Spirit and decided if she was going to keep randomly opening the passenger door. She would just have to start putting her purse in the floorboards as an excuse.

"Oh. Okay. Mrs. Bakura." Jamie said as he ran into the back garden next door.

"Mummy why can't I go and play now and eat lunch later?" Whined Ryou as he followed his mother up porch to the door.

"Ryou you can play once you eat lunch." Mrs. Bakura stated as she unlocked the door and went inside.

Mrs. Bakura went to the kitchen put Amane in her chair, started lunch and then sat down. By this point, Ryou was already sitting in his seat and after a moment the Spirit sat down in his own seat.

Mrs. Bakura had an idea while she making lunch. “Ryou why don't you and the Spirit finish your game before lunch?”

“Good idea Mummy!” Ryou got up from his seat and ran into the study for a moment. He came back with a new sheet of paper and two pens.

“I'm totally going to beat you Mr. Spirit!” Ryou rewrote their scores from the bulletin and drew new lines.

“Now that I know the rules I'll win this.” The Spirit stated as he grabbed one of the pens from Ryou.

“Hey!” Ryou was surprised at how quickly the pen disappeared from his hand. “How did you do that?”

“What take the pen? Simple I'm faster than you.” The Spirit smirked glad that his reflexes were

as fast as ever.

“But I didn't even see it happen! It was like magic!”

Mrs. Bakura chuckled in the background. She was fairly sure magic had nothing to do with it.

“I don't need magic to steal from a six-year-old. That was all skill.” The Spirit replied smugly.

Ryou wrote down an “O”. “Wow that is so cool! Could you teach me that?”

The Spirit wrote an “X”. “Hmm may-”

“Oh no,” butted in Mrs. Bakura unknowingly interrupting the Spirit. “You're not learning to take things without asking Ryou. That's rude remember?”

Ryou sighed, “You’re right Mummy taking before asking is wrong.” He wrote down another “O”.

“Spirit please try to not do that again. Stealing isn’t right.” Mrs. Bakura really didn’t want the Spirit to start teaching Ryou how to steal. She didn’t want Ryou learning such habits this young.

The Spirit slouched at this. Being told off for petty theft was not something he was used too. He lived off of petty theft when he was Ryou's age. He absentmindedly wrote down an “X”.

“HA! I win!” Declared Ryou as he wrote down the final “O”.

“What!?” The Spirit looked at the sheet. He had failed to “cat” Ryou and instead left the board wide open for a win. “We have to go again that doesn’t count. Your Mum distracted me!”

Ryou groaned, “You just want a redo so you have a chance to win.”

“Yeah so? What’s wrong with that?”

“But I want to win! You won last time!”

“That’s how we tied in the first place kid. I caught up with you.”

“So I was winning first!”

“Because you didn’t explain the game to me!”

“I couldn’t! We were in Chapel!”

“Boys! That’s enough, lunch is ready.” Mrs. Bakura interrupted the pointless argument.

Mrs. Bakura served a few sandwiches for lunch. Once Ryou had finished eating he got up and rushed to put his shoes back on.

"Come on Mr. Spirit! We have to hurry if we want to be able to play any football." Ryou called over to the Spirit who was still at the table messing with Amane.

"I'm coming kid." The Spirit got up and followed Ryou out the door. Once they were outside and the door was closed the Spirit stopped Ryou from running off the porch. "Ryou I'm not playing football with you."

"What? Why?" Ryou questioned starting to get disappointed.

"Because you have other kids you can play football with and I thought this would be a good time to check on things in the Ring." The Spirit explained in a quiet voice not wanting Mrs. Bakura to know they were still on the porch. In that moment forgetting that Mrs. Bakura couldn't hear him.

"Are you talking about the noises?" Ryou whispered back.

"Yeah, you’re going to school tomorrow and I would like to know the situation in the Ring before then." The Spirit finally started to lead Ryou off the porch.

"So you're not going to school with me tomorrow?" Ryou asked with a pout. He had fun playing with Mr. Spirit in Chapel and had hoped that meant Mr. Spirit would start hanging out with him at school too.

"No, I'll stay in the Ring during that and knowing the situation now is better than knowing the situation then." The Spirit explained as they headed to the other house.

"What will you do if the noise is still there?" Ryou asked a good question.

"I'll figure THAT out when I get there." The Spirit didn’t know what he could really do if the voices were still mad. He might just have to pull through it for a few hours. The two got to the neighbor's fence and the Spirit stopped again.

"Well, I hope you fix the noise problem." Ryou also stopped at the fence.

"Yeah, have fun playing football or whatever." The Spirit responded not used to getting “good lucks”. The Spirit vanished into the Ring after finishing the conversation off awkwardly.

Ryou stayed for a moment staring at the spot where the Spirit was just standing. He was still worried about what was wrong with the Ring. He hoped Mr. Spirit would let him try and help soon.

"Hey, Ryou! You finally ready to play?" Jamie yelled from inside the garden.

"Yeah, I just finished lunch. Whose side am I on?" Ryou asked walking into the back garden.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yes, I would like the items delivered.”

“You are aware of the risk, we don’t sell toys here, they’re the real deal.”

“I am aware and that’s the very reason I am calling.”

“Very well the things you have ordered will arrive within the week.”

“Thank you, goodbye.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Inside the Ring, the Spirit was greeted with the last thing he wanted to see or in this case hear. The voices hadn't quieted down. In fact, they had gotten louder than when he had been in there the night before! The Spirit couldn't figure out what was going on. The Ring wasn't in danger, in fact, it was in the safest location it could ever be, with its chosen host. Maybe one of the other items was in danger? But what was he supposed to do about that? The Spirit didn't know where the other items even were!_

_Was it... Was it because he was leaving the Ring so much? Were the voices Jealous that he got to leave the Ring? At this thought the Spirit got angry, how DARE they try to control whether he left the Ring or not! He needed to be outside of the Ring to get THEIR revenge. That wasn't it the **Darkness** told him. The voices and the **Darkness** were mad because he was getting a little too comfortable with his host's family. If the Spirit wanted his plan to work correctly he would have to pull away from the family. _

_"And if I don't?" The Spirit challenged into the darkness. Then the **Darkness** would have to get rid of the risk to their plan. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun Dun Duuuuuun! cliff hanger! Not really, but sort of a cliffhanger. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter's so short. It's a weird middle ground between straight fluff and plot. Also there's only so much you can write about tic-tac-toe. 
> 
> No we're not going any farther into religion stuff. Just felt like it needed to be referenced. Ryou is one of the only yugioh characters to have any form of religious background (his letters to Amane). Other than maybe Tea if only because of visuals. Religion background is something you get from your parents and since Ryou's dad is the way he is. Well he's clearly not the one who gave Ryou a religious upbringing.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Darkhorse out!


End file.
